Amid speculation that Sam Darnold or Josh Allen will be the No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns remain uncertain whom the pick will be themselves.
Coach Hue Jackson said Tuesday that the draft's four top-rated quarterbacks -- Darnold of USC, Allen of Wyoming, UCLA's Josh Rosen and Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield, are still in play for the club's selection at the top of the draft, per the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.
"If there was a consensus (general manager) John (Dorsey) had come to, he would've told me," Jackson said. "That's not the case."
The Browns hold the Nos. 1 and 4 overall selections, so the club doesn't even need to use the top pick to be assured of landing one of the aforementioned. However, with the Browns in need at the position and a new GM in place in Dorsey, Cleveland is widely expected to take a quarterback first. Per Jackson, Dorsey isn't one to tip his hand.
"When John Dorsey goes dark, he goes dark," he said.
Four of five NFL.com analysts have the Browns picking a quarterback No. 1 in the most recent mock drafts; two projecting Darnold and two for Allen. The outlier, Maurice Jones-Drew, projects Cleveland to take RB Saquon Barkley of Penn State at No. 1, DE Bradley Chubb of N.C. State at No. 4, and trade back into the first round for its quarterback: Louisville's Lamar Jackson at No. 32 overall.
Dorsey will hold a news conference Thursday, which will mark one week before the draft begins. Although the draft is strong at the quarterback position, early selections could make quick work of the availability. The New York Giants and New York Jets, who hold the two picks between Cleveland's two first-rounders, could take a quarterback, as well.
The Browns selected QB DeShone Kizer out of Notre Dame in the second round last year. He struggled as a rookie with 28 turnovers, and was traded to the Green Bay Packers last month for DB Damarious Randall.
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